Tips for interviewing employees in a workplace investigation.

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In most investigations, interviews are
the main tool investigators use to find out what happened. More often than not,
investigators have to rely almost entirely on statements from the main players
and witnesses, who may contradict each other. If the main participants flatly
deny each other’s claims, you’ll have to sort out who is telling the truth.

How can you decide
whose story is more credible in these “he said, she said” situations? The first
step is to conduct interviews designed to elicit as much information as
possible. The more information you can draw out of each witness, the easier it
will be to figure out what happened and why. The interviewing tips that
follow will help you elicit the most useful responses, even from the reluctant
or contentious witness.

Keep an Open Mind

Some investigators don’t want to
believe that serious misconduct or harassment could happen in their company,
and so tend to make light of possible wrongdoing. Others jump to the opposite
conclusion, assuming that an employee would not complain without good cause.

As an investigator, your job is
to avoid making assumptions. No matter how serious the problem or how
straightforward the situation appears to be, don’t reach any conclusions until
you have gathered and evaluated all the facts. If you start your investigation
believing you already know what happened, you will miss some important details.
But if you keep an open mind until your investigation is complete, you will
conduct more thorough interviews—and receive more candid answers to your
questions.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Your
goal when conducting an interview is to get as much information as possible.
The best way to accomplish this is to ask open-ended questions. If you ask
questions that suggest the answer you want to hear or questions that call only
for a yes or no answer, you will be doing all the talking. Instead, ask the
witness what he or she heard, said, or did, and why.

Start With the Easy Questions

The employees you interview are likely
to be nervous and uncomfortable. Employees suspected of wrongdoing will
probably also be defensive, frightened about what may happen, and perhaps
willing to lie to save their jobs. If you begin your interview by asking
directly about the alleged misconduct, you will aggravate an already tense
situation—and probably limit the flow of information. Someone who feels accused
or put on the spot is more likely to clam up. Also, if you cut to the chase too
soon, you’ll miss your chance to find out important details before
the employee knows why you’re asking questions (and, therefore, has an
opportunity to tailor the answers accordingly).

The better course of action is to
start with basic background questions about the employee’s job, coworkers,
daily schedule, and so on. You’ll have to get to the tough questions
eventually, but starting with a few softballs will put the employee at ease and
give you the opportunity to ask about seemingly unimportant details that could
prove very significant to your investigation. It will also help you get a sense
of the employee’s demeanor and body language when he or she is comfortable and
telling the truth. Then, when you get to the tougher questions, you can see
whether the witness reacts differently (for example, the witness stops making
eye contact, starts fidgeting, or becomes much less certain of the facts). This
will help you judge credibility.

Keep Your Opinions to Yourself

As
your investigation progresses, you will inevitably start to develop some
opinions about what really happened. You should not share these opinions with
witnesses, however. If you suggest, through your statements or the tone of your
questions, that you have already reached a decision, witnesses will be less
likely to speak freely with you. Some witnesses might be afraid of
contradicting your version of events; others might feel there is no point in
explaining what really happened if you have already made up your mind. In the
worst-case scenario, a witness might believe you are conducting an unfair or
biased investigation and challenge the outcome in court.

Focus on the Facts

On
the television series Dragnet, Joe Friday had a
simple interviewing technique: He asked his subjects to tell him “just the
facts.” If only it were that easy in real life. Many people have a difficult
time distinguishing objective fact from subjective opinion when describing what
they have seen and heard. Some witnesses might describe another person’s
motivations or thoughts, relate rumors as if they were known facts, or
exaggerate. Your job is to separate the wheat from the chaff—that is, to
isolate fact from opinion—then find out the basis for the witness’s story.

Find Out About Other Witnesses or Evidence

Always look for leads. Ask every person
you interview whether they know of other witnesses or physical evidence
relating to the incident. If the witness is the accused or complaining employee,
ask whether anyone else saw or heard the incidents in question. Ask whether
they told anyone about the incident when it happened. Find out if they took any
notes about the problem or if any workplace documents—emails, memoranda, or
evaluations, for example—relate to the incident.

Ask About Contradictions

Sometimes, one witness contradicts what
another has said. The accused and complaining employees are perhaps most likely
to contradict each other, but even uninvolved witnesses might give conflicting
stories. The best way to deal with these inconsistencies is to ask about them
directly. Once you get down to specifics, you may find that everyone agrees on
what happened, but not on whether it was appropriate.

If
the witnesses continue to contradict each other even after you have pointed out
the conflicts in their stories—if the accused flatly denies the complaining
employee’s statements, for example—ask each witness why the other might
disagree.

Keep It Confidential

Complaints can polarize a workplace.
Workers will likely side with either the complaining employee or the accused
employee, and the rumor mill will start working overtime. Worse, if too many
details about the complaint get out, you may be accused of damaging the
reputation of the alleged victim or alleged wrongdoer.

You can minimize
these problems by practicing confidentiality in your
investigation. Tell each witness only those facts necessary to conduct a
thorough interview.

Don’t Retaliate

It is against the law to punish someone
for making a complaint—or participating in an investigation—of harassment,
discrimination, illegal conduct, or unsafe working conditions. And it is
against your company’s best interests to punish any employee who comes forward
with a good-faith complaint, regardless of the subject matter. You want to
encourage employees to bring problems to your attention, so they can be resolved
before they start draining productivity or stirring up legal trouble. Assure every person you interview that you want to hear their
side of the story and that they will not be retaliated against for coming
forward.

Ask Interviewees to Contact You With New or
Additional Information

People sometimes freeze up when they’re
put on the spot. It’s very likely that a witness might remember some
significant detail—or learn new information—after the interview is over. To
make sure you stay in the loop, close every interview by thanking the witness
and asking him or her to contact you if anything else comes to mind.

Document Your Interviews

Take notes during every interview.
Include the date, time, and place of each interview, the name of the witness,
and whether anyone else was present. Don’t just record the witnesses’
conclusions; include all the important facts that the witness relates or denies,
using the witness’s own words whenever possible. These notes will help you
remember what each witness said later, when you are making your decision. They
will also help you defend your investigation in court, if it is challenged as
biased or incomplete.

Before the interview
is over, go back through your notes with the witness to make sure you got it
right. It’s a good idea to have the witness sign either your notes (if they are
legible) or a written statement of what was said during the interview.